Above: Bishop Luis Rafael Zarama (center) stands in Raleigh Sept. 22 with St. Joseph Parish’s living charter members (left to right) Vicki (Hewitt) McNeil, Danny Coleman, Elizabeth (Stanley) Chance, Joyce (Sanders) Bass, Mary (Woods) Curry, and Hazel Sanders.
RALEIGH – St. Joseph Parish welcomed Bishop Luis Rafael Zarama Sept. 22 for 9 a.m. Mass. It was part of the continued celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Diocese of Raleigh.
The bishop was greeted by the parish's six living charter members following Mass. All six came from St. Monica Parish, which was located on Tarboro Road and served Black Catholics during segregation from 1930 to 1968.
These charter members helped form the foundation for an always integrated St. Joseph - a universal Church representative parish in southeast Raleigh, dedicated on Poole Road in October 1968.
The legacies of the parishes of St. Joseph and St. Monica and affiliated pioneering leaders will be celebrated during an academic conference Friday, Nov. 22, at St. Joseph. For more information, contact Alex Bass at alex.keith.bass.nc@gmail.com.